Dubai — UN urban centre
Dubai: 5,283,789 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #76 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 865; territory: United Arab Emirates (ARE). UN source workbook.
Method: Degree of Urbanisation (contiguous 1 km2 cells, density 1,500+ people/km2, total 50,000+). This is a source-defined urban centre, not a municipality or province. No association with a separate administrative entity is inferred from proximity or name.
Source centroid: 25.266, 55.3425. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 163,035 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 359,717 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 566,759 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 763,995 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 1,297,363 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 2,194,165 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 2,318,198 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 3,714,581 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 4,423,206 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 5,283,789 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 5,648,030 | Projection |
| 2035 | 5,924,094 | Projection |
| 2040 | 6,216,896 | Projection |
| 2045 | 6,507,968 | Projection |
| 2050 | 6,851,740 | Projection |
Largest UN urban centres · Fastest-growing urban centres
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This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.